Archive for July, 2011

Want ideas of things to do in San Diego to close out July? Look no further. This weekend’s line-up of events include a live production of a Joss Whedon classic (no, NOT Buffy The Vampire Slayer), discounted grub and drink on 30th Street in North Park, free screenings of children’s films at MOPA, and one of San Diego’s free outdoor summer concerts.

Saturday, July 30:

2:00 p.m. Join the Evil League of Evil. Watch the second-to-last show of the live production of Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog starring Jane Lui as Penny! It’s an hour-long production that takes up the entire performance space, i.e. both the stage and aisles. Put another way: If Zack Whedon, co-writer and creator of the original web series, dug the performance then there’s no good reason why you shouldn’t too. Tickets are $35 at the door. It’s open seating so be sure to get there at least a half-hour early to get prime pickings. Just don’t get there after the curtain goes up because they won’t seat you. Can’t make this matinee? Catch the FINAL show at 8:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m. Savor and sip in North Park. Spend the early to late evening in North Park eating and drinking from the smorgasbord of eateries along 30th Street during the neighborhood’s monthly 30th on 30th event. A quick glance at Jay Porter’s recent post on the 30th Street Blog shows that the event is riddled with $3 and $5 deals at spots like Alchemy, El Take It Easy, Mosaic Wine Bar, The Linkery and more. No kidding: this is my kind of mosey.

Sunday, July 31:

10:30 a.m. Watch short and snappy Children’s films for FREE. The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) hosts the 8th Annual San Diego International Children’s Film Festival. More than 100 films from around the world will be screened until 5:00 p.m., clustered in one-hour blocks for different age groups. Film styles span from animation, live action and documentary, and some of the films’ animators, filmmakers and actors are set to appear. Cost to attend? FREE.

4:00 p.m. Chill to the Blues on a Sunday afternoon. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs and fill up your picnic baskets and coolers for a FREE outdoor concert at Kate Sessions Park. The second installment of this year’s Pacific Beach Concerts on the Green features a performance from the Stoney B Blues Band. For tips on what to bring and what to leave home, check out the event’s event goer guide.

(Photo caption, left-to-right: Part of the Dr. Horrible’s Live flyer from the production’s Facebook page; image from the 30th Street website; image from the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival Facebook page; view of Kate Sessions Park from the Pacific Beach Concerts on the Green website.)

I’m also honored to say that I contributed to this issue. It’s the most content I’ve had published in San Diego Magazine to date (having also been published in the May and July issues) and it all comes about a couple of days after the one-year anniversary of deciding to take up writing full time.

Want to know which bits of the issue are from me? Here’s the answer key:

There are many reasons why Monday, July 25, 2011, was a good day for myself and my family. Here’s the main one:

My new nephew’s sweet cries are punctuated with squeeze-toy squeaks and there’s strength in his clasp. Whenever his eyes are open to take in the black-and-white view of this new-to-him world, I imagine that he’s trying to get a sense of why these bigger people are always hidden behind rectangles before he can see their face. In a couple of years, he’ll realize those rectangles are cameras and he’ll squeal a precious, “CHEEEEESE!” like his older cousin. Until then, he’ll simply look back calmly and with acceptance.

He arrived healthy and a few weeks earlier than expected. No one minds.

I’m helping staff the convention again this year, which means that I’ll be working full-time plus some good old-fashioned overtime next week.

So, while I’ll continue to post on Dig This Jive over the next week, it won’t be on the daily. I’ll be back to my daily postings and my weekly “My Picks” postings starting Monday, July 25. Until then, I will post now and again about my time at Comic-Con, providing some examples of why I dig this event that I began attending in 1999.

Not that I’m impartial or anything, but this year’s programming schedule is looking fit. And it isn’t just about the movies and TV shows. Peter M. Coogan’s annual Comics Arts Conference has 16 sessions slated, all of which take a different angle at discussing Comics as an art form, from considering the representations of “Otherness” in graphic narratives to wondering whether the trend of adapting comic books to film has hurt or helped the comic arts. Oh, and why does Batman have a thing for “bad girls”?

Comic-Con Programming: It’s not just entertaining; it’s academic.

If you’re one of the lucky thousands to be attending this year and you opt to take in a panel or two, remember that the people you see wearing the gray, monogrammed Comic-Con shirts and bearing staff badges are volunteers. They’ve committed to working every day to maintain the program’s flow which, with these crowds, means being extra careful to comply with Fire Marshals. So don’t be surprised if they ask you to find a seat if you’re standing against the wall in a programming room. It’s all in an effort to keep the show running.

In exchange for their efforts, this gracious multitude might take a break or two to check out what’s happening on the convention’s Exhibit Floor. Or maybe they’ll enjoy a couple of minutes of a panel in the room they’re managing. But, for the most part, they’re working. Hard. For you. If you get the chance, please take a moment to thank them. It really does make their day!

(Photo caption: Hamming it up on the Exhibit Floor off hours during Comic-Con 2010. | Taken by Scott Norland.)

DISCLAIMER: This is my own personal story and opinion and not that of the San Diego Comic Convention, Inc. (SDCC). Nothing mentioned here should be regarded as representing SDCC in any way.

Joss Whedon gave us Dr. Horrible during the 2008 Writer’s Strike. NPH, also known as Neil Patrick Harris, shined as the miniseries’ lovable anti-hero. Nathan Fillion killed it even before his character, Captain Hammer, explains that his fists are not the hammer. And Felicia Day etched herself a place in the dictionary under the definition for “sweet” with her portrayal of Penny, the good-hearted do-gooder.

Sure to add another dimension to the sweetness of Penny’s character is songstress Jane Lui. She’s playing Dr. Horrible’s unrequited love in the live production of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!” In fact, the show is set to begin its two-week stint at East Village’s 10th Avenue Theatre this Saturday, July 16. Tickets for the show run between $20-$40 and can be purchased online via Brown Paper Tickets.

Aside from the fact that Miss Lui is stretching her talents by adding “acting” to her musical CV, I dig the idea of this show because the adaptation is completely fan driven (with the permission of Mr. Whedon, of course) and cleverly hits its stride during Comic-Con weekend.

Oh, and Jane Lui fans should take note: Per Lui’s website, the fan who draws out the most number of geeks to the show and mentions “house concert” to Jane after any of the performances will win a free San Diego house concert put on by Jane herself. A generous and wonderful whirling dervish of music and musical love, she is.

Enough said, I think. Buy your tickets soon then get to work on your memorable sinister laugh so that it’s on par with Bad Horse’s death-whinny. You won’t get into the Evil League of Evil without it.